LAUREL, Md. — Spring is finally here. To celebrate on Saturday, some Laurel residents went out to enjoy the weather and do a bit of spring cleaning at Riverfront Park.
“There’s a shopping cart down by the bridge,” says Vicky Phelps. “I saw it [Friday] and I was thinking in my head, gee I hope there’s a river clean-up.”
On Saturday morning, Vicky and her husband, David Phelps, took part in the annual Patuxent River clean-up. The river is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.
She says they either run or walk through the park almost every day, so they’re happy to give back.
Mike Lhotsky, Laurel Parks and Recreation director, says this is the 13th year for the river clean up at the park. The Patuxent Riverkeepers coordinate the event.
Lhotsky says there are groups that maintain the river on a daily basis. “But today is a day where we come out as a group and help clean it up and get some stuff out of the river,” he says. “And we do it also to help with our park, Riverfront Park to keep the park looking good.”
Mike Leszcz, Laurel City Councilman At-Large, says, “The goal here is to keep the trash out of the river. If it gets in the river, it gets down in the Chesapeake Bay and into the ocean then you have these flotillas of plastic bottles and plastic bags.”
A unique feature about the Patuxent is that it’s the only river that is fully-contained within the state of Maryland.
“We use this park a lot actually. I figured it would be a good way to give back,” says Harry Stello. He is the father of twin seven year old boys, Harry and Hunter Stello.
He also refers to their friend Jackson Wilde, who’s also seven years old, as kind of his adopted son because Wilde is with them a lot.
Stello says he told the three boys they were heading to the park to help clean up. The boys didn’t have a problem with it, actually they seemed to enjoy themselves. Even at a young age, they still can help out.
